Blackout – Ragnar Jonasson

What the blurb says:

On the shores of a tranquil fjord in Northern Iceland, a man is brutally beaten to death on a bright summer’s night. As the 24-hour light of the arctic summer is transformed into darkness by an ash cloud from a recent volcanic eruption, a young reporter leaves Reykajvik to investigate on her own, unaware that an innocent person’s life hangs in the balance. Ari Thór Arason and his colleagues on the tiny police force in Siglufjörður struggle with an increasingly perplexing case, while their own serious personal problems push them to the limit. What secrets does the dead man harbour, and what is the young reporter hiding? As silent, unspoken horrors from the past threaten them all, and the darkness deepens, it’s a race against time to find the killer before someone else dies… Dark, terrifying and complex, Blackout is an exceptional, atmospheric thriller from one of Iceland’s finest crime writers.

My review: 5/5

When secrets lead to destruction… Blackout sees a brutal murder investigated by Ari Thor and his colleagues in a race against time. Once again, Ragnar Jonasson, has gifted his readers a deliberately, measured yet starkly chilling plot which leads us to an exhilarating climax. There is no fast paced, shoot-em up, action packed scenes here but the very deliberate pace makes for an even more intense and disquieting read.

Ragnar is incredibly talented at painting a beautiful landscape with words and imagery that will take you to the very heart of Siglufjörður in Northern Iceland and after reading three books in this series I feel as though I know the place like my own hometown! I swear I have to turn my heating up to read these books, such are the feelings they provoke!

Hidden secrets underly this series. With all the characters there is a hidden depth and skeletons just waiting to jump out of the closet at the reader, just when you think you know someone then the rug gets pulled out from under your feet!

In Blackout we are introduced to, Isrun, a journalist from Reykajvik and what an intriguing character she is, unreliable and seemingly disliked by her colleagues but she is determined to get to the bottom of what has happened in Siglufjörður – but what motivates her? Can I just say that I LOVE Isrun and I hope that she makes a return in future books; she might be a little hard to like to start but she definitely grows on you! Also running through Blackout is the story of Hlynur, Ari Thor and Tomas’ . In the 2nd book of the series (Nightblind) , reference is given to Hlynur and Blackout gives us the back story and boy did that throw up a mix of emotions for me – I was torn between a sense of poetic justice, empathy and pity! And of course we have Ari Thor…strong, surly at times and often silent but oh my #BeStillMyBeatingHeart!

The #DarkIceland series has hooked me and there is no escape (nor is there any desire from me to escape). I’m not going to lie – I had always shied away from #NordicNoir as I couldn’t pronounce the names and I felt that this was off-putting – but I’m so glad that I stepped out of that comfort zone and that I chose Ragnar Jonasson as my guide….this series #Rocks. Like the other two books, Blackout reeled me in very slowly, nibbled away at me and then bit me and it was #HookLineAndSinker for me!

To buy the book then click below:

Advertisements

Share this:

Like this:

Published by chapterinmylife

Hi my name is Sharon and I have an obsession - it's reading! My preferred genre is crime/thriller/police procedural with a penchant for Tartan Noir.
This is my blog for my book reviews and I would love to connect with other like minded readers and authors. I'm happy to feature interviews on my blog, review ARCs (kindle and hard copies)
All views are honest and my own
If you wish to contact me then please email me:
chapterinmylifesb@gmail.com
View all posts by chapterinmylife